Written in the Stars
by rapunzells
Summary: In the Enchanted Forest, everyone is born with the name of their soulmate on one wrist and the name of their enemy on the other wrist. It's their job to figure out which is which.


Belle loved reading. From a young age she asked her mother to help her untangle the letters in books in order to enjoy them. She collected books on a shelf in her room until her parents let her use space in the library of their castle.

In order to get anywhere in life one needed to read. Some peasants went their whole lives without knowing how to spell their own names. But in the Enchanted Forest everybody came into the world knowing two names other than their own. On one wrist they were born with the name of their soulmate and on the other wrist they had the name of their enemy. It became everyone's task to figure out which was which.

After successfully learning the alphabet, Belle sat in the garden with her father staring at her own two wrists. The one on her right wrist looked especially difficult to read, so she started with that one.

"R-R-Rumplest-"

"Don't say it!" Her father interrupted her, his eyes wide. "You must never say his name."

Belle tilted her head to the side. "Why not, Papa?"

"He is your biggest enemy, Belle. He's a very bad man, and you should never cross paths with him."

Belle nodded, even though she didn't understand how he could be her enemy if she's never met him. She looked at the names on her wrists, wishing she could use her mind to judge those two people rather than letters on her arms.

She looked to her other wrist. "Gaston." Her father nodded and she smiled, proud for having read it right. "Is he my soulmate?"

Her father nodded. "Yes. And you're already arranged to marry him."  
Belle looked out at the rose garden. She hadn't ever met him and she was to marry him. It was odd, but then again nobody ever told her she would have the opportunity to marry for love. Belle knew she would grow to love the boy whose name she had on her wrist.

Belle met Gaston the next summer and found herself wondering if the gods made a mistake. He pulled her hair and said girls were gross while her nursemaid instructed her that she needed to act like a lady no matter what. "That's what boys do when they like girls, Belle," she clucked. Belle wished boys would just say what they felt.

When Belle asked him about his favorite books, he crossed his arms and declared that girls shouldn't read. Belle's mother told her to be patient. It might take some time, but love didn't happen overnight. Belle had to trust that her mother was right.

But with each time she met Gaston, Belle found herself doubting the letters on her wrist more and more. Then the Ogre Wars started, and nobody cared about soulmates or fate-determining letters. Belle took to the library, surrounding herself in stacks of books about ogres and the previous war. It was almost three hundred years ago. The defeat of the ogres was attributed to the Dark One. Belle furrowed her brow, flipping through the rest of the book to try to learn more about this Dark One, but found nothing.

It took her nearly a week to find it. Deep in a book about dark magic, Belle found a chapter on how people went about dealing with the Dark One. They just said his name thrice and the the Dark One appeared, ready to deal. Belle's breath rushed out of her lungs when she read his name.

Belle stared at the letters on her wrist, knowing exactly what she would deal for and how she would pay for it.

"Rumplestiltskin," Belle whispered in the dark library, the little girl in her from years ago shuddering at the name finally brushing through her lips. "Rumplestiltskin." Her mother always believed that Belle and Gaston would make it work, but maybe, just maybe, her mother had been wrong. Her mother had put her faith in the wrong wrist. Belle held her breath, forcing herself to utter it one last time. "Rumplestiltskin."

A puff of red smoke billowed up in front of her, and then there was a man standing there in a long dragonhide coat. His skin was scaley and his hair hung around his head in wild curls. Belle didn't mind his appearance, though. The Dark One was surprisingly short, almost the perfect height for her, and she could tell he hid secrets behind his reptilian eyes.

"I'm asking for two things," Belle told him.

Rumplestiltskin let out a high-pitched giggle. "Most are scared to deal with me once and you wish to deal with me twice? You can't get something for nothing, you know. Whatever you ask for comes with a price."  
"I want you to end the Ogre Wars, giving victory to the humans."

Rumplestiltskin nodded. "And, um, what's in it for me?"

"I still have to ask you for the second thing."

"What'll it be, then?" He asked, circling around her like a lion stalking its prey. "True love? A more handsome fiancee? More money and power?"  
Belle took a deep breath, steadying herself on her feet. "Your hand in marriage."

"My…" he blinked. "What?"

"My name is Belle."

His eyes widened, flickering down to see her wrists, but she kept them against her side. She let her gaze travel down to his wrists, covered by the sleeve of his long leather vest. He pulled the sleeve of his left arm up, holding the side with the writing up. Belle knew that her name would be there, but seeing the black letters against his greenish skin made her gasp. She held out her right hand next to it, showing him his own name. He grabbed onto her hand, running his thumb over the letters.

"Do you not believe me?" She asked.

"Oh, I believe you," he said, bowing down to press a quick kiss to the inside of her wrist. "It's the gods I have a hard time believing."

Belle's skin tingled where his lips touched her. "Do you believe the name on your other wrist to be your soulmate?"

He shook his head with a grimace. "Certainly not."  
Belle wanted to ask about the name on his other wrist, but that could wait for another time. "Then do we have a deal?"

Rumplestiltskin dropped her hand, and it wasn't until then that Belle realized he'd been holding it since he kissed her wrist. He fiddled with his vest. "Wouldn't you rather have a knight?"

Belle reached for his hand with her name on it, looking at the letters of her name on his skin and then redirecting her attention to his eyes. "I would rather have love."

"Belle, I'm a monster. You're a lady. We would never be compatible."

"Our wrists seem to say otherwise. I'm not a fool. I know a marriage to you would not be easy but I want it." Belle bit her lip before adding, "As long as you do, that is."

Rumplestiltskin grabbed onto her other hand, lowering his voice. "I do."


End file.
